Wild But Innocent Stories: Katarina x Zed
by Wiger
Summary: Katarina has been stalking Zed for reasons even she's not fully sure of. What happens when the shadow ninja confronts her? Not my work, just a repost of a long gone author.


This is not my work, but that of an author who used to be on this site, named Wild But Innocent. Her profile is still on here, but she deleted all of her stories and left Fanfiction for good. Luckily, I recorded some of her stories, and since I feel that they are too great to disappear, I'm posting them myself for everyone to enjoy.

It wasn't like anybody knew. Nobody would ever find out. They'd all just think she was first; that she was the one who'd perfected it all by herself. That she wouldn't sink as low as she had.

She wiped the strands of her red hair out of her face as she waited. A quick glance down and some pulling on her outfit made sure her cleavage was right on display – even more than it usually already was.

Katarina had her characteristic smirk on her face, her daggers dangling from their strings around her wrists and her blades tucked into her belt. She had a thing for blades; they were one of her favorite things in the world. Squinting her eyes, she looked down at the landscape. The tree wasn't that high, but it was high enough for her to have perfect vision on everyone in the area.

A chuckle escaped her throat when she thought about the reason she was here. It was absurd. But she didn't care. No one would even worry about where she was – as her duties as Noxus' representative required her to be all over the place anyway. The only one who'd maybe ask where she'd been would be Cassiopeia; but lately she had other things to focus on since she got summoned on the Rift a lot more.

So more reason for Katarina not to worry about who would wonder about her. It was kind of sad really, how no one actually cared. Maybe it was Noxus-like, and she was used to it. Talon would just greet her with a fan of blades when she'd get home. Her dad was still missing – and for some reason she didn't really miss him. Not like Talon did. It was actually kind of nice to be able to do her own thing for once… And there definitely was something she wanted to do. Or rather; someone. That's what she was here for, after all. In the deep forests of Ionia. She'd been here many, many times before. For various reasons…

Everybody who knew the red-haired assassin knew that she was wanted amongst many men – and that she used that to her advantage. She'd slept with almost half of all the male hunky champions in the League. Against popular opinions, some of them were more than a one-night stand. Like Draven. She'd been a bit younger back then, and she actually used to have a little crush on the entertainer. It hadn't lasted long, because her crush had never become more than just a crush. Same thing with Garen. That one had been dangerous though – which had made it more exciting. Sneaking in through the borders of Demacia, just to spend the night with the Crownguard – she had good memories of that time. She would lie if she said that she didn't still have a soft spot for Garen. But again… it was just a crush.

And Katarina du Couteau could get any man she set her eyes on. The ones that she hadn't slept with yet were just not her type – or they were so in love with someone else that she just didn't feel like creating drama. Sometimes she honestly just wanted to get laid and walk away the next day like nothing had happened. No drama, no shit.

Still, it was never satisfying enough.

Her heart was never in it either, for that matter. She had other things to focus on, obligations, practicing her blade and dagger throwing, the League matches, her duties for Noxus… But not today. She'd taken today off. Oh, she had to go places – but she just wouldn't. Not today.

She had her mind set on something. And usually, she'd get whatever she wanted. But this time was different.

This wasn't just a crush.

This was an obsession.

It had been like that for years now…

And she was annoyed – so damn annoyed that this time, she couldn't get what she wanted. Unfortunately, it was something she wanted more than anything she'd ever wanted before. Since back then.

She was probably about sixteen years old. Noxus was still in charge of the southern provinces, and she was looking for information about how to win over the other states as well. Even though she was young, she had the attitude of a grown woman and her fighting skills were better than any girl her age had ever shown.

Her dad had told her that there was a smaller Ionian island on the northwest side of the big one. So she'd taken the simple ferry that went over the sea to reach that island. She'd heard that there were only friendly ninjas there – as long as her balance was in order and she wasn't planning on disrupting it. She didn't really care for that though, so when she stepped on land, she ran into the deep forest that covered the island, looking for the Kinkou mastery. Her hands held on to her daggers, because a ninja ambush was probable, so she had to be prepared. She pulled herself up on her daggers on a big tree branch and jumped on the next tree. For some reason, she'd always been fast. Being able to jump from place to place in the blink of an eye, surprising and catching people off guard… She loved it.

And her new brother also helped her to stay alert and improve her fighting skills. Fighting with Cass - since the Shurima affair - was a different kind of battle, but Talon had her kind of fighting. But still, there was something they lacked. Something she lacked. And she was looking for a new technique, something she could use to get better…

As she jumped from branch to branch, a strange sound caught her attention. Immediately she froze, and looked down. There was a big open space; a few bushes and patches of grass decorated the landscape, alongside some huge stones. It looked destroyed. Empty. Any human being would shudder seeing this place, but she didn't. It peaked her interest and carefully she waited, squinting her eyes to focus so she could catch any movement.

What she saw next, was something that made her mouth fall open. And that didn't happen a lot to Katarina du Couteau – she made mouths fall open, not the other way around. But this time was an exception.

She didn't hear footsteps, but she saw a figure emerging from the shadows of the forest; almost as if it was a portal instead of just a dark spot under the trees. Then she saw him. A warrior. Dressed in red, combined with metal armor. On his arms were two gigantic blades that he carried around like they weighed nothing at all. He wore a mask, but even though she couldn't see his face, she knew that he was dangerous. And that she shouldn't be here.

But since when did that stop her?

She was in awe. In awe of everything she saw – and he'd only just walked. The blades on his arms, the red shine from under his mask, the broad back… and she could hear him breathing. She was jealous of the blades he had – her own tiny blades and daggers were nothing compared to those monstrosities. It kind of upset her in a way that made her feel surprised. She'd never been looking this way at anyone. And she didn't even know the figure – but somehow she had the feeling that he'd be on her mind even after she'd be back in Noxus.

Then, with the sound of air exploding, a dark figure appeared. It was like a shadow, but… alive. Like you could touch it. She frowned and held on to her daggers tightly, not planning on leaving now that things got even more interesting.

Two dark figures were standing next to the man. In a flash, he swapped places with them, throwing blades and even though she didn't really get it, the shadow men started throwing the blades as well – in the same direction.

"Holy shit," she whispered, not loud enough for him to hear.

For half an hour, she watched him. She saw him swirl his arms around, his blades in a circle, cutting through the shadows and slashing all the brushes around him. She made mental notes of everything he was doing; even though she didn't have the shadow men like he had, she still had blades. She'd never thought about spinning them around and slicing up everything around her… A smirk appeared on her face when she thought about the possibilities. And the way he moved, the way his strong body just swapped from place to place without pause… she was fast too. Maybe there were things she could learn from this…

Her knees hurt from sitting on the branch for too long, but she couldn't risk getting caught – because even though she was strong, he was stronger. He had a technique that was dark. And probably forbidden. This wasn't the way the ninjas were supposed to fight – at least that's not what her dad had told her.

Suddenly the danger of it all sent shivers through her spine – in a good way. She wanted to stay here forever and watch the masked man perform his fighting skills. She ignored her hurting knees and hissed when a spider landed on her arm, catching her off guard. Carefully she tried to blow it away, but it didn't want to fall off so she left it on her arm. It probably wouldn't be venomous. She'd seen bigger spiders in Kalamanda.

She looked back at the open space and saw that the man was sitting down on a fallen tree. Now that he wasn't moving so much, she took the time to admire his broad figure and even though she was high up in the trees, she could still see that his armor was incredibly detailed. She wondered what kind of metal it was made of… and if it was easy to take off. And what kind of body was under there. Probably an amazing one – but she'd never know. She also wondered about the red shine from under his mask; did it come from his eyes or was it a fancy armor trick?

With a swift motion, the man took off his mask.

And yet again, Katarina's mouth fell open. A stinging feeling shot through her heart, as if something grabbed her from the inside – but that feeling subsided quickly. She tried bending forward to get closer, even though those few inches didn't matter from how far she was sitting. But she knew, and the sting in her heart region made sure of it, that he was the most beautiful man she'd ever seen. His eyes were giving off a deep red glow that flashed a bright red for a few seconds, and his jawline was so sharp that she could see it from up here…. and his dark brown hair was longer than she'd imagined it.

It was time for her to leave, because these kinds of feelings hadn't happened to her, ever. People fell for her, not the other way around. She was disgusted by the feeling, it made her mad.

Her right leg started to get numb, the tingles filled her body - she had to stretch, she just couldn't help it anymore. Carefully, she grabbed the trunk of the tree she was in and held on to it as she let her leg fall free.

She was sure it hadn't made any noise.

Until she felt a cold blade against her neck.

"Katarina du Couteau…" a deep voice with a dark echo said next to her ear. 'Did you really think I wouldn't notice your presence?"

She wanted to swallow, but the blade was so close to her neck that she felt it sting her skin already, so she just breathed, careful not to take too deep breaths.

"You must be here to look for ways for Noxus to conquer the rest of Ionia."

A million different options flashed through her mind, but she went with the first one.

She lifted up her hand slowly, her dagger dangling on the string around her wrist, and placed it on his arm – which was obviously not the reaction he expected. He didn't move the blade away from her, but it didn't come closer either.

"Look…"she whispered, feeling the sharp edge in her neck, "I'm not here for you."

"I know. That is what I just said. You are here to look for political advances for your Noxus. And you were hoping the Kinkou would help you get that advance, since they are supposedly peaceful." She felt his mouth move against her ear and she closed her eyes for a few seconds, disgusted by the situation she was in.

"You're not one of them," she said, carefully. "You're better than them. Darker."

"What I have done… cannot be undone. They brought it upon themselves."

She then pushed his arm away with force and jumped down onto the next branch, then again, until she landed in the dry sand.

She wished she knew more about the technique he used – it would've come in handy in this situation. In the fraction of a second a shadow grabbed her shoulders and held her in place, as the man walked up to her like it didn't take him any effort at all to flash from place to place.

His deep red eyes made her heart beat faster, but she'd never admit it. All she wanted was to go home and forget his face. Forget everything. Because if she didn't, these memories would haunt her for the rest of her life.

He raised his eyebrows and came closer, the blades on his arms reaching out to her. She swallowed heavily.

Then, with a swish, his blade cut off a strand of her red hair. She watched it fall to the ground.

"If I ever see your face again around here, I'll have to end you. For now, go, and return no more."

x x x

And she'd found out who he was. It hadn't taken long for her to get in contact with the Kinkou.

Return no more? That wasn't an option. She had to know more about him – and she knew the Kinkou would have information about this mysterious man. She knew that just from his whole presence; they just had to know that he was around, with their so-called balance stuff. And he wasn't balanced.

It had taken her another two hours to get closer to the Kinkou residence. And in the meantime the shadow man hadn't left her mind for one second.

She smirked as a kama flew towards her – she dodged it barely. A young girl walked up to her and twirled her kamas much like she used to twirl her daggers herself. This had to be Akali, the Fist of Shadow. She was the one who knew all about the weak points in the balance in Ionia; and if Katarina could let it seem as if she came in peace and was from Ionia, then maybe she'd tell her some information… But the second kama that was flying towards her, indicated that the ninja didn't want anything to do with her whatsoever.

"Get away from here, Noxian! You're disturbing the balance!"

Katarina let out a sigh as she realized that the Kinkou wouldn't be of much help now. She wondered how they knew so fast that she was from the enemy side – and that she was standing behind this tree.

"I could feel your presence from miles away, Noxian. Your aura is so damaged that you couldn't be from around here. Not even the most unbalanced Ionian is as foolish as you. You don't take anything seriously."

Katarina stayed behind the tree. "I am not here to get information from you about Ionia," she lied. "But I do want to know about the shadow warrior I just met in the woods."

Suddenly, the approaching footsteps of Akali disappeared. For a second Katarina wondered where she'd gone, but then she felt a cold kama against her neck and then she realized that the dark warrior used ninja techniques as well. Normal people weren't this fast.

"Don't you ever talk about him." The kama pressed down into her neck and Katarina tried moving away, but Akali held her tight. "You're still young, like me. Get away from this island. Forget everything you've seen. Try to get your life back in order. Read; meditate, think. Get your balance straight. Because of my training I am not allowed to kill yet, the Eye of Twilight only allows me to kill when I'm eighteen. So if you would've come here a few months from now, I'd have killed you. But I don't disobey my master. Not like Zed did. Where is he?"

'Oh, so his name is Zed,' Katarina thought. 'Simple but strong. Just how I like it.'

"What did he do?" she hissed against the blade. "What did he do to you?"

Akali then pulled her kama away from Katarina and sighed. "He discovered something that should've stayed a secret, and he used it to be stronger than Shen, who's the Eye of Twilight now. Zed… he… and his… army… murdered almost all my friends. There are only a few of us left. He's disrupting the balance of Ionia even more than you do – and that says something."

"Did you love him?"

"What?" the girl's head moved up, fire in her eyes. "I did. But not in the way you're implying. Why am I even talking to you about this?"

"Because you can't kill me anyway. And you want to know where he is," she reminded her. "So your people can kill him. I wonder why you can't sense his presence though – if you say mine isn't as bad as his."

"He's hidden from us. Where did you last see him?"

"In the woods, about ten miles west of here," she lied. "Now in return, give me some information about how to win over the less devoted elders of Ionia. They care less about the balance anyway, so you will have a problem less - and they will be a benefit to Noxus."

"How can you even say that? They're elders for a reason. Now leave, and don't return. Or I will call for help – from someone who is allowed to kill you – and he won't even show emotion doing it."

It had been more than ten years since then. And oh, things had changed. Everything had changed.

Noxus didn't own the three bottom provinces of Ionia anymore, in the first place. Partly because her missions in all of Ionia hadn't paid off – turned out the northern part of the island wasn't as easy to conquer as the southern part. The Institute of War had insisted on settling the disagreements in a final match. That was what the League was for, after all. The League of Legends was good for many things…

Her fighting skills were amazing now. She'd remembered everything she saw the shadow warrior do – and she didn't have those shadows, so she had to adapt his skills to fit her own.

She'd taught herself to spin around with the blades in her hand, like she'd seen him do. She'd found out that it was easier for her to spin with her daggers, so that her body went with the motion. She did more damage that way. His arms were stronger than hers, so he was stronger if he let his body still.

And then her new jump, which was also inspired by him swapping places with his shadows – but again, she didn't have the shadows. So she made it her own version. Flashing forward in a heartbeat, jumping on anything that could be jumped on. If only she'd have two shadow clones of herself…

She still remembered the day he arrived at the Institute of War. Everybody was talking about him; the dark shadow warrior with the red eyes. It was then that she knew that he was here.

And they'd never know. They'd all just think she was first; that she was the one who'd perfected it all by herself. That she wouldn't sink as low as she had – by taking and adapting skills from a dark warrior. No, Katarina du Couteau wouldn't do that. She'd mastered her blade and dagger skills all by herself… Which she technically did. She'd just taken some… inspiration from someone.

And she could still recall the moment she was forced to fight him in the middle lane on the Rift; she'd never been so excited in her life. And usually she didn't really get excited – she wasn't like Jinx or those yordles who couldn't shut up. She just went with the flow and stuck her daggers in any body she could find. But that day had been different.

She was counting all her blades and making sure her long hair wasn't stuck into her top so that she could move around freely – so she didn't really pay much attention to the members of the opposite team. But when she walked up to the center of the field, her heart skipped three beats when she saw him. But she didn't show it; instead, she had her usual smirk on her face.

"Good afternoon… Zed," she'd said seductively and made sure to put extra effort in making sure his name fell from her lips as if it was the most delicious candy in the world.

He just grunted something and threw a blade at her, but she walked out of its range just in time to see the swirling blade fly past her head. In response, she threw a dagger back, mirroring his movement, but her daggers didn't miss. They were attracted to metal – and since almost any champion wore armor, her blades didn't miss their target.

Then he walked up to her, and she knew what he was going to do. She'd seen it before, and she'd dreamed about it a million times. As he came closer, she stepped in his direction, and at the exact same moment, they both swirled their blades around, slicing through each other's stomachs.

She could see the red eyes under his mask flash a bright red for a second, and she winked. "Learned from the best," she whispered.

He walked away and before she could throw another dagger at him, one of his shadows appeared and he swapped places with it in a mere second. She just grinned and used her fast jump, falling on top of him as he took over the place of the shadow. Their timing was the same.

He grunted and she wrapped her legs around his neck, ready to strike. But within another flash, he swapped places again and she was sitting on top of the shoulders of a shadow and she had a blade fly towards her. This time, she wasn't fast enough to evade it. She felt the blade go through her shoulder and she fell off the shadow, hissing in pain.

"You did learn from the best," his deep voice said. "But you're not even close yet, you simple woman."

They'd been facing each other a hundred times by now; she couldn't even keep count. They were both very popular amongst summoners, since they had the ability to do more and more damage every time they killed someone.

But not today. She'd taken today off. She was back at the place she'd seen him for the first time, and she had a goal. She wanted him to acknowledge her; to tell her that she was strong. She wanted him. And not just like a snack, no, she wanted him to want her like she wanted him.

Garen had told her yesterday that he still wanted her. He'd even invited her over to spend the night with him.

She hadn't shown up.

She'd been tempted to; the man was a good lover. He was well-built, strong, and she was able to dominate him in bed quite easily. Exactly how she liked it. She'd always been the dominant one – in every bed she'd ever shared with anyone. Even Draven liked it when she was on top. The only person who'd ever objected was Darius – but that was ages ago. He'd wanted the control. Darius however wasn't interested in her anymore nowadays. And she knew exactly what that reason was, and the reason was stupid, but who was she to judge? If she could be with a Crownguard, why couldn't he? She'd never told him about being with Garen though. He'd also never specifically told her he was doing Garen's little sister Lux, but she could cut the sexual tension between them with a knife. And she had many blades on her, but that tension was so dense that she needed multiple knives.

She smirked about her trail of thought and looked down, waiting for Zed to appear. Her knees had gotten stronger through the years; she was amazing now at sitting in trees for hours. That's how she'd gotten into Demacia in the first place – just waiting in a tree till the guards had gone, and then jumping down.

She held her breath when she saw him appear, adjusting the blades on his arms. Her eyebrows raised and her mouth fell open – like it did every time she saw him. Still. Every damn time.

"Katarina. Come down."

She froze. No way…

"I said come down. Show yourself."

He had his back turned towards her, but it was his voice. She'd been so careful…

With a sigh, she pushed herself from the branch, landing on his shoulders and wrapping her legs around his neck like she'd done many times on the Rift. And she knew what he was going to do next. Without saying anything else, she jumped over to one of his shadow men – and just as she'd expected, he also swapped. So she was still sitting on his neck. Then, with a graceful leap, she landed on the floor and stood in front of him, holding her daggers in the air.

"What is your business here, woman?" His dark red eyes were staring into hers and she smirked.

"I came to see you."

"And why is that?"

"I want to fight you, Zed."

"To show me how strong you are?"

"I am strong. I think my skills are measuring up to yours now."

"Do not deny me. I will end you."

She fluttered her eyelashes and nodded. "I know you will. But I will do the same to you."

"You will most definitely not. You red-haired ignorant assassin. Do you even know what I am capable of?"

"Oh, I do…" she whispered and winked. "But I'd like to find out more. I want to know why you wiped out almost all the Kinkou even after their master had offered you peace again… What your problem is with Akali… I want to know where all your shadow warriors are and why I never see you with your army. If your army consists of just shadows. I want to know what your face looks like after all these years… I want to know what it feels like to have you inside me."

He let out a grunt and stepped away from her. "Those are mostly reasonable questions, but I cannot answer you. You have stepped into forbidden territory."

"So have you. This wasn't even your territory to begin with, was it?"

0Enough!" He flicked his fingers and his shadows grabbed her before she could do anything. She'd expected him to grab her, not to let his shadows do the work for him. Something new… Again, a smirk appeared on her face. Her green eyes locked into his red ones.

"What are you going to do now, Zed? Do you think it's worth killing me? I don't care about the balance of Ionia, now do I? I'm not like the people you want dead." She rolled her eyes and kept going. "Sure, I'm not as serious as you – you should try living a little! But I wouldn't want your technique to die out; it's pretty awesome; it even inspired me. Nobody knew where my sudden change of style had come from! So thank you for that," she chuckled as she felt the grip of the shadows hold her tighter.

"Go ahead," she resumed, "kill me. If you think that I deserve it. Do you think I do?"

He stepped closer and held his bladed right arm up to her throat. "Are you challenging the master of the shadows?"

"As a matter of fact, I am," she said, sounding more confident than she felt. "But probably in another way then I'm letting on."

"I know you, Katarina du Couteau. You have always gotten exactly what you want. I do not like people who get what they want."

"Why? Because the Kinkou sent you away? Because Shen was stronger than you? Because Akali didn't want you anymore? Look at them now; they're miserable. I think you got what you want now. You're stronger. In every way. But as for me, there's something I want that I haven't got yet. And I've been wanting it for more than ten years now."

"Me."

A hot flash went through her lower stomach and went down to her thighs. Hearing him say it turned her on more than she'd ever been before. And he didn't even want her.

"Yes," she breathed.

"And why would you want that? You can get any man you set your mind on."

"I thought you just told me I was just a simple woman. So even you have to admit I have certain powers…"

The blade pressed closer against her as he leaned in a little bit. She could hear him breathing under his mask and she wanted to rip it off but she was restrained by the shadows holding her arms behind her back.

"Yes, you are a woman who can lure men in. I can see that. Almost half of fools on the Fields of Justice have fallen for your advances. Why is it me you are looking for?" It felt like a rhetorical question to her - as if he knew the answer already.

She wasn't going to tell him what she wanted exactly, it would sound weird…

"I have been lusting for you since the first time I saw you. And I know that under there, you're still a man. Deep down. You know you want me."

Suddenly the blade he was holding in front of her went down and cut her across her collarbone, leaving a trail of blood. She hissed. "Okay, okay, sorry. I got your point."

The shadows then let her go and disappeared, she coughed from the breath she'd been holding and touched her chest, wiping the blood away. It stung, but she didn't mind the feeling. It kind of turned her on even more. Usually she didn't like to be told what to do or who was in charge. But not today.

"Get away from me," he grunted.

She took a few steps back, her eyes still looking at his. "My offer still stands," she said while raising her eyebrows. Right away she regretted saying it, because he might just kill her with one swing of his blade.

"I guess I overestimated you," she then whispered. "I thought you would want to show me what it feels like to get punished by a shadow warrior…"

Another step back. She then felt herself walk into a tree, and with a fast jump she was in the first branch. Then the second, third, fourth… until she was almost at the top.

She could do two things. Stay, or leave. And Katarina du Couteau didn't take no for an answer. She'd been waiting for this too long to let it slip out of her hands now. Hell; she'd even risk getting killed. The thrill of it all even made her want him more than she already did.

She took the jump. In mid-air, she started spinning around, swirling her daggers around her as she landed on the floor, cutting him in the stomach, and when she saw his shadow men appear to grab her, she sliced their throats too and jumped away from them, surprisingly giving her a tiny advantage. A blade flew to her throat, and she used a tiny blade to throw it out of balance and evade it. The sound of metal on metal and the swishing of blades was the only thing that was audible besides the chirping of birds and the moving of leaves in the wind.

Because she'd caught him off guard, they were even now. It was like she knew what he was going to do; studying him for years and years had gotten her insight in his ways of fighting.

She'd never even considered wearing more armor, because on the Rift there were healing powers and in her normal life she never really got hurt too bad. But the blades were flying around like a tornado and she felt the edges cut into her skin. She wondered why he hadn't sliced her in two yet. Maybe he didn't want to kill her after all – and this was exciting. She'd never had such a good fight outside of the Rift. She could kill him too if she wanted, but she needed him alive. She couldn't bring herself to take the life of such a beautiful warrior… If he wanted her or not. He wasn't of any danger to Noxus – he had his own balanced Ionia to worry about.

They fought for half an hour straight, and she was getting more and more hurt in the process. She was barely holding up against him, but she would never admit it. Not to his face. But technically she was fighting against three, not one.

"Fight me without your shadows," she said out of breath, spitting on the floor, her green eyes burning, her daggers up in the air. "I dare you."

With a flick of his finger, the shadows were gone. She took a deep breath and jumped on him, her thighs were on fire. Because even though this fighting was tiring her out, she also got more and more turned on during the whole thing. She'd felt his muscles under his armor and she just had to feel more… But not now. Now it was one on one. She looked down at him from under her red eyebrows and smirked. He'd been the stronger one when his shadows were there, but now she actually had a decent chance of overpowering him.

Or so she thought. At first she thought he didn't have anything to swap places with, but it turned out he could jump as fast as she did too. They swirled around, blades cutting and slicing, they jumped, they threw blades. There were knives and blades stuck in the trees all around them.

She then flashed forward to cut him after, but he was doing the same thing. They clashed into each other and the collision made her lose her balance, so she held on to his armor to keep her from falling down. He was standing up and held her weight up easily.

"It seems I have underestimated you, Katarina."

She sighed. "That took you a while to figure out… I learned from the best, remember?"

"So you are assuming I am the best?"

"I know you are."

Suddenly, his blades shoved back into their protection holsters on his arms and he lifted up his hand. She didn't know what he was doing, until his finger traced the scar on the skin around her eye. A shiver went down her spine when she felt his gloved hand on her face.

"Who did this to you?"

"It was my own mistake," she shrugged. "Killed the wrong guy to prove myself; and then I had to get to the right one because he was going to attack us. Took me a while to cut through his army. I don't even know who did it, to be honest."

He grunted and held one of his smaller blades next to her face. "I could've given you a mark like that."

"You've left me with enough scars already," she whispered and to prove it she wiped her hand across her stomach and lifted it up to him, it was stained with blood.

"Good. Now you know not to come find me again. Now leave."

"I thought we were finally getting something started here," she objected with a sly smile. "Maybe I could show you something more… intimate. I could teach you a thing or two, just as you've taught me a thing or two about handling blades."

He snorted. "Did the thought of you being better at those things actually cross your mind?"

She nodded, curious about what he was going to say.

"You simple woman. Ignorance… is fatal."

He pulled off his mask and she saw his face just as she'd remembered it, but even more handsome and sharp. His red eyes were a bright red, as if he was going to either kill her or…

He grabbed her face in his hands and pulled her closer, closing the distance between them, but he held still just before his lips touched hers. She felt his hot breath on her face. "If you ever think you're better than me in anything, I'll have to end you. Do you understand?"

"Prove me wrong then," she whispered.

When his lips melted into hers, she closed her eyes and let the feeling flood her. His lips were soft and he tasted like iron… but maybe that was the blood in her own mouth from all the fighting. He deepened the kiss and she held on tightly to his chest armor, completely taking in his skin on hers, the stubble on his cheeks and the heat from his breath mingling with her own. His hands held the back of her head and his fingers buried themselves in her red locks, he pulled her up higher so she had to stand on her toes.

She then let go, swung her leg around his hip and pushed herself up, wrapping her legs around his waist, climbing him like a tree. He didn't even struggle with the weight – again. She felt the cold metal of his armor slide over her wounds, but she didn't care. His arms held her close to him and his lips took over her face, not giving her a chance to decide the pace or place of the kissing. Her breath got stuck in her throat and she shuddered as she clamped her arms around him, a whole new feeling washing over her.

This man that was kissing her was doing more to her than every man she'd ever slept with had ever done. She pressed her lower body into his stomach, desperately holding on to prevent him from letting her go. Cause she was afraid he would. That he'd change his mind, throw her away from him and kill her. She would evade him, sure, but the physical rejection wouldn't be as frustrating as the mental one.

But his hands went down to her ass and grabbed it tightly; squeezing it and moving his hands over her behind, back to the bottom of her back, to her sides, where he held her waist. She let out a moan when she felt his tongue inside her mouth, and she was surprised by it herself; because usually she wasn't the one to make any noise – but today was different. Everything was different.

Her hands started to find their way to the clasps of his armor, and he grunted and grabbed her hands. She looked into his eyes with a mischievous smile, but he wouldn't let her go any further.

"No," he hissed.

She dropped her shoulders in disappointment, but he didn't stop kissing her. Then, without warning, his shadows appeared and ripped her away from him, holding her in their grasp. She watched as she saw Zed walk up to her. She tried removing herself from the grasps of the shadows, but she wasn't able to. Instead, he unclasped her top, and worked his way down – painfully slow – until she was completely naked. He didn't show any hint of appreciation, and then the possibility crossed her mind that he might just be doing this all to prove his point, not because he really wanted her. She lifted her eyebrows and waited for him to take his own armor off, but he didn't. He came closer, bended over, and then she felt his tongue on her stomach, licking at the wounds he'd made earlier. She hissed and pressed her legs together desperately; her own body was betraying her.

She'd never admit this to anyone, but she'd never come before. Yes, she could thoroughly enjoy sharing a bed with someone, and she knew if someone was trying their best to make her happy - but her body had never let her experience a climax during sex. She took care of herself, of course – so she knew it was possible - and it wasn't like it was the most important thing, but she'd made an art out of faking it. She'd done that from the start, when she'd found out that her body wasn't as responsive as the ones of the men she'd slept with. Yes, it was pleasurable, and yes, she loved being the dominant one just to try to help herself, but it'd never worked.

But somehow, someway, she had the feeling that he could make it happen. She knew it was egoistic – but on the other hand, her feelings towards him must be immensely strong and she must be going incredibly crazy for a man would he ever bring her to do that. So technically it wouldn't be just about her, she'd show him how she felt and made sure that he'd have a amazing time too…

The way his tongue moved over her cuts almost made her lose her mind.

"Oh god…" she breathed. "Please…"

"Please what?" his dark voice said and she looked down at him. She just shook her head and then she whispered. "I need you inside me, Zed."

"So I do have something to teach you," he grunted. He didn't make any movement to show her he was going to do what she asked for. Instead he kept going, his tongue swirling over her body and licking her clean of the blood, then up to her breasts. She threw her head back when he grabbed them and licked her in all the right places. Men had done this to her before… but not like this. This was killing her.

"God fucking dammit," she breathed loudly.

"Do you still think you can teach me a thing or two?" he then groaned.

She shook her head furiously. "No…"

When she felt the grip of the shadows weaken, she took a sharp breath. "Don't stop though… Please… I need you to show me…"

The shadows then held her tighter and she took a relieved breath. If anyone would've told her that she'd enjoy being held in place and being shown what to do; she would've told that person to fuck off. But not today.

"Katarina du Couteau is begging me not to stop? Isn't that something?"

Usually she would smirk at a comment like that, but now all she could do was arch her back when his tongue found the first cut he'd made today, on her collarbone. "Jesus!" she screamed. "What are you doing with that tongue?"

He didn't answer. All she could do was press her eyes shut when she felt a wet trail go down her chest again, the skin that had been licked colder in contact with the cool air. There was nothing else she could focus on but the pleasure he was giving her – and he hadn't even undressed yet.

She bit her bottom lip and threw her head back again, trying not to moan too loudly but she sounded like a dying seal because he was making her feel things that made all her previous experiences seem like just another part of a week. Tingles shot through her skin, like tiny bolts of electricity that all came together in that one spot between her legs.

Then the feeling of his tongue on her skin disappeared; she gasped and opened her eyes, only to find him completely naked. She cringed when she saw the most perfect body she'd even seen. He was covered in light stripes, his battle scars, with some new cuts she'd added just now; and his muscles were well defined under his skin. His shoulders almost seemed too broad for his body, but it only turned her on even more. She couldn't stop her eyes from wandering down his body, only to let out a shuddering sigh when she saw his erection.

She wanted to tell him that he was human after all, that maybe he did want her, that he cared more than he'd led on… but she couldn't. She clenched her teeth when he came closer and she felt his manhood against her thigh – and Katarina du Couteau didn't beg. But she'd already broken that rule today… His hands grabbed her behind her ass and then she felt the shadows let go, freeing her wrists and the rest of her body. His strong arms held her up easily to prevent her from falling down. She pressed herself up against his chest, her breasts pressed up against him and she felt her own wetness down her thighs – which was a first.

In the blink of an eye, he pulled her knees from under her, making her fall down but her reflexes made her throw her arms out to catch herself. However; she didn't need to because his hand was back in her waist, laying her down.

"I see you've lost your ability to talk?" he grinned while hovering over her and spreading her legs.

She was still afraid that too much talking would change his mind, so she smirked and shrugged. "I just don't want you to stop…" she whispered.

"I was not planning on stopping until I have made clear that you are nothing against me. In every way."

She wanted to make a witty comment, but his eyes flashed a deep red and then his mouth was on hers, and his fingers on her chest. He still wasn't inside her and she was getting more and more worked up because of everything he was doing to her skin.

It was not quite like frustration; more like the pleasurable opposite of frustration, but it did want to make her scream. Her hands wandered down his chest while his scruffy jawline went down to her neck, making her moan loudly. She wanted him to enjoy this too; she wanted him to let her know that he was also doing this because he wanted to and not just to prove her that she was nothing against him… She gasped as she felt the cool air make contact again with the wet trail his tongue left in her neck. She clenched her fists and pressed them against his chest, squeezing her fingers for dear life as she let out another embarrassingly loud moan.

Her moan then became a strangled cry when he finally thrust himself inside her, burying himself completely in her welcoming body.

"Katarina…" he hissed while looking into her eyes and she didn't know whether it was from pleasure or to get a reaction out of her. He pulled back and then shoved himself inside her again, his hand wandering down to take care of the most sensitive spot on her body as he moved back and forth, using his other hand to lean on.

He was killing her. Everything was killing her. His bright red eyes that almost turned a smoldering bordeaux color as he moved, his toned chest, his stubble in her neck, his hands between her thighs, feeling him inside her… Her hips started to automatically meet his thrusts, rolling up in the air as she moved her feet under her to give her more strength to connect with him.

She clenched her teeth and closed her eyes and she realized that this was never how she did sex. She always was smirking, confident, in charge. She wouldn't have to surrender herself to the overwhelming pleasure – just because it had never been this way. She used to flutter her lashes, make sure she was in the best position to show off her body, just to let her lover know that she was the one in control. Always.

But not today.

She'd completely given in to the pleasure, her body clenching and her hands grasping whatever they could find.

A spider crawled onto her stomach, but she didn't care. Hell, she didn't even notice until she felt the slightest breath of air over her skin, and she looked down just to see him blow the bug away. His tongue then found the cut on her collarbone again and sucked on it, her eyes shutting again and letting out cries of pleasure.

He was touching parts deep inside her that she didn't even know existed, and in combination with his hand down there… she felt the tension building up and goose bumps appeared on her skin as she whispered: "I-I've… I've n-never…" She then closed her eyes as her body let go, twitching and clenching around him, bolts of pleasure shooting through her as she came, stronger and more powerful than she ever had before. It was like the world disappeared around her for a while, surrendering her to the intensity of it all. She arched her back into his touch, screaming out his name.

She heard him take a deep breath – even his breath had echoes to them. "Well, isn't that something?" he smirked. He started pounding faster into her sensitive spots, his hand letting go and now focusing on her chest. She gasped and for some reason, because her body was still coming down from the first time, it was already halfway up to the next one. "Oh god…" she whispered. "I think I'm… I'm… Fuck! Zed!" She wrapped her arms around his neck as she went through another climax, her walls clenching down on him. In a reflex she moved her face up to his, his lips meeting hers in a deep kiss as she moaned into his mouth.

He closed his eyes and let out a grunt as she felt him fill her sore insides. She smiled and closed her eyes, taking in the feeling of him unloading inside her, letting it consume her.

For a while he just looked at her, not saying anything. She tried reading his expressions, but she couldn't. She smirked. "You were right, Zed. I didn't have to teach you anything anymore…"

"Remember that, Katarina. You are nothing against me."

She let her hands wander down his shoulders and down to his arms, until she felt a band around his wrist. She hadn't even noticed he was wearing something, but she took a quick look. A loud gasp escaped her throat, and he pulled his arms back.

"Is that what I think it is?" she said, still slightly panting.

With a flash of his fingers, his shadows appeared and put his armor back on so that his body was completely covered, hiding the object from her.

"I do not feel the need to answer you on that question. Now leave."

Then, in a flash, he was gone.

She couldn't help but have her characteristic smirk plastered on her face as she tried to stand up and put her clothes back on; her mind occupied with all the things that'd just happened.

x x x

"Minions have spawned."

It had been two days. Two days of wishing and hoping to fight against him, to see him again, to know that he would still be around.

But unfortunately, she hadn't seen him since then.

When she'd come home, Talon had greeted her with bunch of blades flying towards her – like nothing had happened. She'd smiled and he hadn't even asked where she'd been. Just like she'd expected.

Cassiopeia had been on the Fields and even when she wasn't, she went to Shurima a lot anyway. Katarina sure as hell didn't expect her to be happy to see her sister back home again. Ever since the curse had been placed on her, things just hadn't been the same. Sure, she was still her sister and all that, but she now was part serpent as well. Seducing people, turning them to stone when she was angry – Cass wasn't her little sister anymore. There were rare moments when they had good talks and laughed together, they liked training together – sometimes with Talon there too. But things had changed a lot in the past few years. Her dad was still gone. And sometimes she thought she should care more, but she just couldn't. Talon on the other hand, was trying everything he could to find out where he'd gone. He'd even gone to Demacia to kill potential murderers, but it hadn't been useful yet…

So everything had gone back to normal. But for her, things hadn't been normal since the day before yesterday. Everything had changed. But nobody had noticed. And things went on the same way as before.

"Kat," she heard a male whisper from the side and she rolled her eyes before she turned to look in the direction the voice had come from. It was Garen – he was on her team today.

"What is it?" she said, her daggers twirling around her wrists.

Garen appeared from the jungle. Apparently a summoner had put him in the jungle role, something that was pretty rare.

"Can you help me?" He pointed at the empty cave and Katarina nodded. "Sure."

As she ran to the bush he had appeared from, he grabbed her waist. "Why didn't you come over when I asked you to?"

She peeled his hand from her skin and moved it away from her. "I don't want to play this game anymore, Garen. It has been fun, but I have something else to focus on. This isn't going to work out anyway."

"Who is he?"

She raised her eyebrow. Then the blue monster jumped from the ground, and they both started attacking it until it was low enough for Garen to smite it. In the meantime, Katarina smirked. "Why would you say that?"

"I've known for a long time, I can see you're not fully into me. But I thought I we could have fun while it lasted," he shrugged. She could see a hint of disappointment in his eyes. "You could always come over when you get tired of him…"

She grinned and walked back to lane, swaying her hips. "Gank me!"

"I would," he grunted back. "But-"

"Don't let your personal life affect the battle, big boy!" she called, not looking around anymore. Even if he wasn't going to help her, she'd still do fine. She hoped she was up against Zed. But when she saw a green outfit, a dark brown ponytail and a pair of kamas, she knew she was up against Akali.

"Great…" she muttered. It had been a while since she'd fought against the ninja, but it wasn't an exception.

The fight went on as usual; things exploding when they both got their ultimate ability ready. They were pretty even – since the League had tweaked their damage output like the rest of the champions – and their summoners both knew what they were doing, apparently.

After getting away with only a sliver of health left, Katarina wandered back to her tower, getting ready to recall - until she saw something that caught her attention. On the lifeless body of Akali was something she'd never seen before. It probably had been there forever, but she'd just never noticed. Maybe because the ninja wore gloves, but just now they'd been cut open by Katarina's daggers just before the kill.

Katarina frowned and recalled back to her base, regaining heath and getting some new items from the shop. What the hell is that thing supposed to mean? she wondered. It's kind of creepy, to be honest…

When she met up with Akali again, she dared to ask. "What is that band for, on your wrist?"

"Why do you care?" the ninja scoffed, lifting her now gloved hand up to look at her wrist to check if it was covered again.

Damn healing powers. "I just do," Katarina answered while throwing a dagger to Akali's face, who hissed and threw a kama back.

"Ninjas wear a wristband for one of two reasons…" The ninja then looked around to see if anyone was listening. "I am promised to Shen. That's why I wear this."

"The… braided… parts of the band… is that his-"

"Yeah, it is," Akali cut her off. "It's a sign of loyalty and trust, so that others can see we're not on the "market". He wears one with mine too. But he's the Eye of Twilight so he can't show emotion to me till we're married."

"And what's the other reason? For that weird thing?"

Akali then disappeared in her shroud, and Katarina wasn't able to tell if she was going to answer the question, but then she heard a sigh. "Sometimes a male ninja wears it… when they are after someone. Like a hunt. It helps them to carry something of that woman close to their heart. I don't know why. It's an ancient tradition. Why do you want to know?"

It was like the solid ground of Summoner's Rift had disappeared under her feet. Nothing made sense – if it was true. Because maybe it wasn't. Maybe he'd been as mischievous as her…

She didn't even have the strength to fight back when she felt a kama marking her, Akali jumping her and slicing her throat.

x x x

Absent-minded she walked through the hallways of the Institute of War, not knowing what to do with herself. Her hands were on her hips, the daggers dangling on their strings.

It didn't make sense. It just didn't. After all; she'd been after him. But when she'd seen the band around his wrist, she'd known something else was going on. Because in that band she saw tiny red strands, braided together, on a piece of leather – and she'd seen what it was straight away.

Hair.

Her hair.

Her mind went back to that one day, that moment when she'd seen him for the first time.

His deep red eyes made her heart beat faster, but she'd never admit it. All she wanted was to go home and forget his face. Forget everything. Because if she didn't, these memories would haunt her for the rest of her life.

He raised his eyebrows and came closer, the blades on his arms reaching out to her. She swallowed heavily.

Then, with a swish, his blade cut off a strand of her red hair. She watched it fall to the ground.

"If I ever see your face again around here, I'll have to end you. For now, go, and return no more."

He'd kept it. For more than ten years he'd worn it around his arm. But why? He wasn't "hunting" her… He didn't even want her at first. Or now. She'd convinced him into having sex with her. It couldn't be that he- or could it?

Without hesitating, she walked up the stairs and followed three hallways until she reached his room. She knew where it was. There had been a million moments in the past ten years where she'd almost walked in and jumped on him – but today wasn't almost.

Somehow she was all the more aware of her red hair that was flowing around her. He'd carried a piece of her hair with him.

"Hi, Kat!"

She didn't have time for a chat. She raised an eyebrow to let Draven know she'd seen him, but that she wasn't in the mood for a talk. Or anything else. Not anymore. Not today. Or ever.

The hallway was getting gloomier and she saw Zed's door. She wondered if he'd even be here, if he wouldn't be in Ionia or someplace else, destroying everyone who had denied him in his life…

She kicked the door open and without looking into the room, she slammed it so hard that the walls trembled when it closed.

She breathed heavily and when she lifted up her head and her green eyes scanned the room for any sign of movement, she gasped.

Her reflex was to jump back, to stay away, but she was intrigued by what she saw.

He wasn't in the room. But she could see him sitting on the railing of the simple balcony, on his feet, his arms resting on his knees. He wasn't wearing his armor or his blades – not even his mask. Apparently no one else was enjoying the cool summer breeze outside, because he'd never show his face to anyone.

She wanted him badly.

"Zed?" she called, not intending to start a fight. Of course, she was always up for a fight, but she wasn't here for clashing of blades. And even though she wanted him… she had to know something first.

When he didn't answer, she walked through the door, up to his balcony. Things seemed casual – way too casual. She guessed the Institute of War has that effect on people… Everything is neutral…

She bit her lip when she thought about two days earlier. She'd been fighting back the memories for the past few days, but him sitting here brought everything back. He was wearing a black leather outfit, his arms bare. He was in the position for meditation, balancing on the steel railing, but she knew he didn't meditate. He didn't need to. The shadows spoke for themselves.

"I asked Akali," she then said after taking a deep breath and leaning up to the railing he was sitting on, careful not too move it too much so he wouldn't lose his balance.

He grunted something.

"I know you don't want to hear her name. So I'll drop that now. Now…" she smirked. "How about you enlighten me about what the hell is going on?" Her elbows started poking the railing when he didn't answer. "Or would you rather do something else…?"

"Why are you here?" he then finally asked and with a swift jump he was standing next to her. A soft breeze went through her hair and she moved it out her face, realizing that they were in sight of everyone who would come up to their own balcony.

"You know why I'm here. And you want me to be here," she whispered, with a sly smile. His eyes turned that deep wine color again and she grabbed her lower stomach in an attempt to stop her feelings from exploding. Her daggers dangled across her knees.

"Go inside," he gestured and she didn't even think about protesting. When they both were inside the room, a shadow appeared for a second and closed the door behind him, locking it.

"Fancy trick," she grinned, watching as it disappeared into thin air again. She crossed her arms, waiting for him to explain himself.

"She was family to me," he then grunted. The dark echo to his voice made her want him to take her again, to make love to her the same way he'd done a few days ago… Wait, he's talking. About Akali?

"Now she is nothing to me anymore. I do not care for their rituals and traditions, so you have no reason to assume that whatever she has told you is true."

"I know I don't have any reason to assume that it's true, but I would like to know what it means to you." She grabbed his wrist, and he allowed her to touch his skin and her fingers went over the red braid across the leather band.

"You're a shadow warrior. You've wiped almost all the Kinkou with your army. I don't understand. You have discovered a forbidden technique – you could destroy everyone. Why aren't you? What does this band mean? It just doesn't match with your… everything…"

"Just like you begging for me does not fit with your image?"

She chuckled and let go of his wrist. "No need to be cocky, mister. But probably."

"Believe it or not, I only want to kill the ninjas who refuse to embrace the shadows. Simple people like you are not on that list."

She started to think that his version of "simple" wasn't a bad thing, but she knew that wasn't a safe assumption to make yet.

"So you don't want to kill me," she shrugged. "Is that why you're wearing that? To remind yourself you don't need to kill me? Or what? I'm starting to get impatient here, and your lips look delicious. If I may say so."

"You may."

She chuckled.

"Katarina."

Her green eyes locked into his red ones and she carefully waited till he was going to speak, because she had a feeling that this was the moment.

"You are bound to me."

"Excuse me?" she snorted. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"You were the first to see me without my mask after I had devoted myself to the Order of the Shadows."

"So?"

"Your soul connected to mine at that moment. That was when I noticed your presence."

She remembered the feeling when she'd seen his face for the first time. Like someone had grabbed her from the inside…

"Fuck," she muttered. "Now what is that supposed to mean?"

"I waited for you to come to me until I finally consummated the connection. I wanted to make completely sure that you wanted this."

A surprised cackle left her throat and she threw her head back in laughter. "So are we like, what, married now?"

"No."

"That's a shame," she whispered when she looked back at him. "So, that's why you kept my hair?"

"Yes."

"So… wait. So did you really want me, or is it just something you couldn't help because it was "destined" to be? Because that would be kind of disappointing…"she laughed. "I had the best sex of my life, just because the Order of Shadows has dictated that my soul was connected to yours because you took off your mask? That's actually kind of sad."

"The connection does not guide feelings."

'Thank god.'

"So it was my fault after all for coming up to you, huh?" she smirked.

"The shadows have enlightened me in many ways," he said, "but even I was having trouble keeping my desires under control. You simply have no idea what went through my mind when I saw you on the battlefield. I had to see you flirt with other men, take them to bed, and still you were searching for ways to get me to be with you – because everything else just was not fulfilling enough. You have a beautiful body. Your hair shines in the moonlight and your eyes light up when you get angry. You are a simple woman, but you are strong. You know what it is like to live - and no matter what people think, you have a heart. And you are mine now. Even if you wanted to be with someone other than me, it will never be as satisfying as being with me; the Master of the Shadows. But you always have to remember who you are dealing with."

While he was talking, she took the strings of her daggers from her wrists and put them against a chair. She couldn't handle it anymore. He was basically telling her that he was the best thing that was ever going to happen to her, and no matter how hard she'd try, nothing would ever surpass him.

Her mind went back to that day again.

"Look…" she whispered, feeling the sharp edge in her neck, "I'm not here for you."

"I know. That's what I just said. You are here to look for political advances for your Noxus. And you were hoping the Kinkou would help you get that advance, since they're supposedly peaceful." She felt his mouth move against her ear and she closed her eyes for a few seconds, disgusted by the situation she was in.

Her mind had known. She'd known beforehand how much she was going to try to find satisfaction, something, anything… to make her forget about him. Screwing half of all the famous men of Noxus; and even Demacia. It wasn't enough. It had never been enough. The darkness had had her in its grasp from the moment she'd seen the dark ninja appear from the woods.

"Nothing better than you, hmm?" she grinned and walked up to him. "But don't you think there are better women out there than me? Aren't I too… simple for you? Isn't there some dark warrior or mage out there that will fit your standards better… like Syndra? Or Diana? You know I don't take things seriously…"

"Keep me grounded," he hissed.

"What?"

"It is you I need. I have business to finish on Runeterra. Ninjas to kill. I have to build a bigger shadow army to wipe out the leftover Kinkou – and I can only do that with you. To keep reminding me what it is to be human. To see things from both sides. So I will always have the advantage. And you are a very attractive woman."

"Can you just kiss me already?" she then screamed and she didn't have to ask twice, because she was pressed against the wall with his dry lips on hers. He'd shown that he was balancing on the edge of killing and living, and that he needed her to not lose sight of that line. But oh, it made him delicious. The shadows, the danger… the darkness. It made him who he was – and she was definitely not going to change that. His mouth went to her cheekbones, down to her jawline, then back to her lips, kissing her with force.

He pressed her towards his bed, throwing her on it and getting rid of her jacket in mere seconds, only to find her lips again right after. As she swallowed the dark echo of his hot breath, she knew that this was what she was going to enjoy for years and years… Or until either one of them got themselves killed. She smirked against his lips as he started to undo her belt.

x x x

She wasn't the sentimental kind; remembering things wasn't something she liked to put effort in. But for the past years, her life had been marked. With darkness. To the outside world, things hadn't changed. Of course, the Kinkou had been defeated over and over again until there was barely anyone left. But the ones that mattered still somehow managed to escape everytime…

But she was still the same old Noxian woman who was good with her blades – a little too good, for some heroes. Everybody secretly wondered where her skills had come from and why they just kept getting better and better.

She smirked as she got off the boat; stepping foot in Ionia. Being Noxus' representative and having connections with the elders in Ionia; she was an example for a lot of Noxians.

But they didn't know that after she'd finished business with the elders, she'd travel a little more… Jumping from branch to branch, flashing forward and swirling around – only to end up in an open space in the Ionian forest.

"Good evening, Katarina."

"Hi, honey," she winked and while she walked up to the warrior, she touched the band on her wrist. She loved how the dark brown braid matched her belts. Usually it was hidden under her armor, but not today. She wasn't planning on fighting.

"Such a hassle getting here," she sighed dramatically. "Luckily you're worth it!"

"You had business to do here either way," he remarked with a deep echo to his voice. He took his mask off and right away she felt her heart reacting to seeing his perfect face; beating loudly and she let her fingers touch his jawline.

"How are you still so perfect after all this time? You'd think that after almost twenty years you'd get less attractive… But you're still the same as when I saw you back then. I'm surprised you still want to be around me," she grinned.

He took her wrist in his hands and took a deep breath. "You are matching up to me in almost every way. I can see that now. You are not a ninja, but you fight like one. You do not need the shadows to be my match. However, you have embraced them. Believe it or not; your way of living has helped me to keep an eye on life, and not just on death."

His finger went over the braid on her bracelet. "I think about you a lot, Katarina."

"Good," she said breathlessly. "Because I've been laying off other men for the past few years for you and I'd hate to think that you wouldn't even think about me," she said, smirking. "Now kiss me, you fool."

x x x

Almost twenty years ago, a red-haired girl had found herself in forbidden territory. She'd been sitting on a branch, looking down over the ruins of the old temple, until she'd seen a shadow warrior appear. She'd been intrigued, and something deep inside her had been awakened. From the moment he'd taken off his mask, she'd been drawn to him – and she'd known he was going to haunt her memories for the rest of her life. But what she didn't know then, is that at that moment, he felt the same thing.

He'd forgotten what it was to be human, until he felt the stinging in his heart. It was then that he knew that the Shadows wanted him not to lose side of his true self: looking for revenge, but most of all: looking for recognition and acceptance. He'd never admitted it to anyone, and he never would. And he didn't have to, because she knew. He was turning dark and even evil, maybe, but underneath he desperately held on to a last strand of hope... Something that kept him human. It was just thick enough to keep him from falling off the edge.

His red-haired strand of hope.


End file.
